Chair having a tip up seat

ABSTRACT

A chair having a tip-up seat and comprising two chair side members supporting therebetween a back rest and a tip-up seat, characterized by the fact that the chair side members each comprise a V-like body having two arms defining therebetween a throat facing upwards, with the rear arm of each V-like member being longer than the front one. The pair of rear arms support therebetween, in combination, a curved wall forming the back-rest inclined rearwardly, and each shorter arm of the V-like body at its free end is integral with a disc to which is removably connected a conical hollow body extending inwardly and forming in combination with the disc a casing, a housing hinge assembly enabling the seat to be supported and to be swung from its horizontal operative position to its upright inoperative position and vice versa, an assembly to automatically return the seat to its upright position, a spring suspension device for the seat and a stop limit device for defining the amplitude of the rotary movement of the seat. At the lower part of each chair side member, a recess is arranged and is adapted to engage the chair side on a longitudinal supporting beam and to fix it thereto by a suitable assembly. The beam, at least at its ends, is carried by strong legs each having enlarged resting feet.

United States Patent 1 1 11 1 3,762,765

Piretti I Oct. 2, 1973 CHAIR HAVING A TIP-UP SEAT Primary Examiner-James T. McCall [75] Inventor: Giancarlo Piretti, Bologna, Italy [73] Assignee: Anonima Castelli S.A.S., Bologna,

Italy [22] Filed: Apr. 4, I972 [21] Appl. No.: 240,972

[52] U.S. Cl 297/162, 296/118, 297/232, 297/332, 297/411 [51] Int. Cl A47b 39/00 [58] Field of Search 297/162, 170, 171, 297/172, 173, 174, 232, 239, 118

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 557,406 3/1896 Linn et a]. 297/332 X 2,001,991 5/1935 Vandervoort. 297/332 3,269,772 8/1966 Brunskole 297/162 3,494,662 2/1970 Schaefer.... 297/232 3,261,640 7/1966 Straits 296/248 X 3,162,754 9/1963 Junkunc 297/162 601,874 4/1898 Hiteshew et al. 296/162 787,337 4/1905 Lazarus 297/332 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,153,485 10/1957 France 297/162 1,262,690 4/1961 France 297/162 Attorney-Jacobi, Lilling & Siege] [57] ABSTRACT A chair having a tip-up seat and comprising two chair side members supporting therebetween a back rest and a tip-up seat, characterized by the fact that the chair side members each comprise a V-like body having two arms defining therebetween a throat facing upwards, with the rear arm of each V-like member being longer than the front one. The pair of rear arms support therebetween, in combination, a curved wall forming the back-rest inclined rearwardly, and each shorter arm of the V-like body at its free end is integral with a disc to which is removably connected a conical hollow body extending inwardly and forming in combination with the disc a casing, a housing hinge assembly enabling the seat to be supported and to be swung from its horizontal operative position to its upright inoperative position and vice versa, an assembly to automatically return the seat to its upright position, a spring suspension device for the seat and a stop limit device for defining the amplitude of the rotary movement of the seat. At the lower part of each chair side member, a recess is arranged and is adapted to engage the chair side on a longitudinal supporting beam and to fix it thereto by a suitable assembly. The beam, at least at its ends, is carried by strong legs each having enlarged resting feet.

6 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures l 7 1; 6 h 4 H 1 1' ':t i M- 1 =4 1 11 3+ a 77 744' /0 CHAIR HAVING A TIP-UP S EAT BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relatesto a chair having a tip-up seat and is particularly adapted to .be used in public halls or the like. The chair also can be provided with removably mounted simple arm-rests so as to give a more comfortable support to theuser's arms, or with arm-rests to which a writing-table is pivotally connected that is adapted to be used for taking notes during conferences, meetings or the like.

The chair has substantially flat side members each having a conical hollow body extending inwardly therefrom, wherein are housed and hidden all the mecha nisms for the linkage, the spring suspension as well as the stop limit means of the seat provided to define the rotary movement of the latter, and the m'eans to automatically return the seat in its upright position. Further, the seat and the back-rest of this chair comprise walls, connected to the side members, which are so shaped as to define the most anatomically correct position that the occupant must take. The chair is also so constructed as to be mounted, in a removable manner, on a single longitudinal supporting member, whichin turn and at least at its ends, is carried by legs, the longitudinal member being designed to carry one or more juxtaposed similar chairs, so as to obtain a row of juxtaposed similar chairs, so as to obtain a row of juxtaposed chairs.

As has hereinbefore been stated, the chair can also be provided with first fitting means each constituted of an arm-rest, comprising a member at the upper part of which a substantially flat narrow plate-like element is provided, on which the occupants arm can rest at its lower part. Each of said arm-rests further includes a recess, similar to'that which is provided at the lower part of the chair side members, which enables each arm-rest to be removably mounted and fixed by any suitable known means on the longitudinal carrying member or beam, near the adjacent chair side.

One of the arm-rests of each chair can also be replaced by second fitting means comprising an arm-rest to which is pivotally connected a writing table and which is designed to be mounted on the same longitudi' nal carrying beam in a similar manner as an arm-rest of the simplest type. The writing table is pivotally connected to the body of the arm-rest in such amanner that it can be either positioned in a horizontal operative position before the occupant or be rotated so as to be placed in a vertical position below the seat, which can be either in its horizontal or upright position.

BRIEF oascmrrioN OF THE, DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings show, merely by way of example, a chair alone, a chair provided with simple arm-rests, and a chair provided with arm-rests and a writing table.

In the drawings:

FIGS. 1 to 3 show a chair in a use position, mounted adjacent to an identical chair, in a side elevational view, in a front elevational view and in a top plan view, respectively; and the adjacent identical chair inFlGS. 2 and 3 is shown with its seat in the upright position;

FIGS. 4 to 6 are views similar to those of FIGS. 1 to 3, but in these views the chairs are provided with armrests of a simple type; and

FIGS. 7 to 10 show two chairs each provided with arm-rests and with a pivotably connected writing table, in a side elevational view (FIGS. 7 and 8), in a front elevational view (FIG. 9) and in a top plan view (FIG. 10); the writing-table being shown in FIGS. 7, 9 and 10 on one of the chairs, in its inoperative vertical position, while the writing-table on the other chair of FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 is shown in its operativepositon.

DESGRIPTIONQOF TiiE PiiisrEiiRED EMBODIMENTS The chair of the invention comprises two side members, each formed by a single V-shaped body, the throat of which faces upwardly and is defined by two arms 2a and 2b, the rear arm 20 being longer than the front one 2b. Between the pair of the rear arms 20 of the chair side members, a shaped wall 3 is mounted, inclined rearwardly and having such a configuration as to provide a comfortable and anatomically correct support for the back of the occupant.

Each of the shorter arms 2b ends with an externally bowl-cap-shaped disc 4 to which is removably connected an inwardly extending conical hollow body 5 forming, in combination with the disc 4, a casing housing the linkage, means enabling the seat to rotate, the seat 6 being carried by a pair of side bars 7, and spring means of any known type being also located within the casing 4, 5 provided to automatically return the seat 6 to its upright position, just before the back rest 3. In this manner, all the mechanisms of the chair cannot be seen from the outside.

At the lower part of each chair side, a recess 8 is provided for engaging each chair side on a longitudinal carrying bar or beam 9 which can support one or more chairs in juxtaposed relationship, as provision is made to arrange a plurality of chairs in rows, the longitudinal beam 9 being supported by at least two legs 10, each having a wide resting foot 10a. When the seat 6 is in its upright position, the rear ends of its side bars 7 enter respectively the throats l of the chair sides so that the seat can reach a vertical position just before the back 3, thus increasing the room for and facilitating the passage of the persons before the chairs of a chair row and between chair rows.

Each of the arm-rests 11 0f the first type, as each of the chair-sides, comprises at its lower part a recess 8a identical to the recess 8 and adapted to engage the longitudinal beam 9 and to fix the arm-rest on this beam by conventional means. Each ann-rest further comprises a member leaning slightly forwardly, at the upper free end of which a bracket 12 is integrally formed and provided with an upper lining layer of soft material 13 so as to constitute a comfortable arm-rest for the occupant's arm (FIGS. 4 to 6).

'The arm-rest of the second type (FIGS. 7 to 10) is similar to the preceding one, i.e., it also includes a lower recess 8b provided to engage the device on the longitudinal bar 9, as well as an inclined member 11 integral with a bracket 120. A little below the first bracket 12a, a pivot means 14 is placed, the axis of which is set at a right angle to the center plane of the arm-rest 11a, 12a, which is parallel to the chair side. On the pivot means 14 there is pivotally connected a second bracket 15, to which is in turn pivotally connected a writing-table 17 by hinge means 16, the'axis of which is substantially parallel to the chair side plane and substantially horizontal in the operative position of the writing-table. Thus, the writing table can rotate through an angle of about 90 so as to move from its 7 substantially horizontal operative position (FIG. 8) upwardly to its vertical position, wherein it is positioned parallel to the chair side. Then, the writing table 17 together with the bracket is caused to rotate about the axis of the hinge 14 through an angle of about 90, downwardly and forwardly, so as to reach a position wherein the writing-table 17 is positioned near the lower portion of the chair side. The writing table 17 is caused to rotate further about the axis of the hinge 16 through an angle of about 90 to a position just below the seat 6 (H6. 7); where it is positioned either substantially in alignment with the seat 6, as it is in its upright position, or below the seat when it is in its use position (see FIG. 9). it will be apparent that the hinge devices 14 and 16 are associated with cooperating limit means in order to stop the writing table 17 or the bracket 15 in predetermined stop positions.

What is claimed is:

1. In a chair having a tip-up seat and comprising two chair side members supporting therebetween a backrest and the tip-up seat, the improvement wherein the chair side members are each formed of a V-like body comprising two arms defining therebetween a throat facing upwardly, the rear arm of each V-like side member being longer than the front arm thereof, and wherein the pair of said rear arms support therebetween a curved wall forming a rearwardly inclined back-rest, a casing is secured to the upper end of the front arm of each V-like side member and houses hinge means supporting said seat and enabling it to be swung between a substantially horizontal operative position and an upright inoperative position, the lower portion of each chair side member having a downwardly facing recess, and a supporting beam extending between said chair side members and being received within said recesses to support said side'members, said supporting beam having means for supporting it in an elevated position.

2. A chair according to claim 1, further comprising an armrest member positioned near one of said chair side members and having a support arm with a downwardly facing recess at the lower portion thereof, said recess being adapted to receive said supporting beam for the support of said arm-rest member.

3. A chair according to claim 2, further comprising a writing table movably supported on said arm-rest member for movement between a first position wherein it is disposed above said seat in said operative position and a second position wherein it is disposed below said seat in saidoperative position.

4. A chair according to claim '3 wherein said writing table is pivotally mounted on said arm-rest member for movement about substantially horizontal and vertical axes.

5. A chair according to claim I, wherein the chair is provided with at least an arm-rest member removably mounted near the side of the chair, said arm-rest mem ber comprising an upwardly and forwardly inclined arm at the lower part of which a downwardly facing recess is arranged adapted to engage said supporting beam, and at the upper end of this arm a bracket is integrally formed and is provided with an upper layer of soft material so as to form an arm-rest for the occupants arm.

6. A chair according to claim 1, wherein near one of the chair sides an arm-rest and writing table assembly is mounted, at the lower part of which a downwardly facing recess is arranged adapted to engage the supporting beam, said assembly including an upwardly and forwardly inclined arm, the upper end of which is integral with a bracket so shaped as to form an arm-rest and to support a writing-table, which is pivotally connected to a second bracket by hinge means having a pivot axis parallel to the chair side and which is associated with stop means limiting the rotation of the writing table about said pivot axis through about 90, said second bracket being pivotally connected to the first bracket by a second hinge, the axis of which is approximately at a right angle to the chair side plane, said second hinge co-operating with other limit means enabling the first bracket together with the writing table pivotally connected thereto to rotate forwardly and'down- 

1. In a chair having a tip-up seat and comprising two chair side members supporting therebetween a backrest and the tip-up seat, the improvement wherein the chair side members are each formed of a V-like body comprising two arms defining therebetween a throat facing upwardly, the rear arm of each V-like side member being longer than the front arm thereof, and wherein the pair of said rear arms support therebetween a curved wall forming a rearwardly inclined back-rest, a casing is secured to the upper end of the front arm of each V-like side member and houses hinge means supporting said seat and enabling it to be swung between a substantially horizontal operative position and an upright inoperative position, the lower portion of each chair side member having a downwardly facing recess, and a supporting beam extending between said chair side members and being received within said recesses to support said side members, said supporting beam having means for supporting it in an elevated position.
 2. A chair according to claim 1, further comprising an armrest member positioned near one of said chair side members and having a support arm with a downwardly facing recess at the lower portion thereof, said recess being adapted to receive said supporting beam for the support of said arm-rest member.
 3. A chair according to claim 2, further comprising a writing table movably supported on said arm-rest member for movement between a first position wherein it is disposed above said seat in said operative position and a second position wherein it is disposed below said seat in said operative position.
 4. A chair according to claim 3 wherein said writing table is pivotally mounted on said arm-rest member for movement about substantially horizontal and vertical axes.
 5. A chair according to claim 1, wherein the chair is provided with at least an arm-rest member removably mounted near the side of the chair, said arm-rest member comprising an upwardly and forwardly inclined arm at the lower part of which a downwardly facing recess is arranged adapted to engage said supporting beam, and at the upper end of this arm a braCket is integrally formed and is provided with an upper layer of soft material so as to form an arm-rest for the occupant''s arm.
 6. A chair according to claim 1, wherein near one of the chair sides an arm-rest and writing table assembly is mounted, at the lower part of which a downwardly facing recess is arranged adapted to engage the supporting beam, said assembly including an upwardly and forwardly inclined arm, the upper end of which is integral with a bracket so shaped as to form an arm-rest and to support a writing-table, which is pivotally connected to a second bracket by hinge means having a pivot axis parallel to the chair side and which is associated with stop means limiting the rotation of the writing table about said pivot axis through about 90*, said second bracket being pivotally connected to the first bracket by a second hinge, the axis of which is approximately at a right angle to the chair side plane, said second hinge co-operating with other limit means enabling the first bracket together with the writing table pivotally connected thereto to rotate forwardly and downwardly through an angle of about 90* . 